The Watcher

“That it’s not her fault. That she was attacked by something terrible,” I said. “That she didn’t do it to herself.”

“No, Mia. You can’t tell her that. Nobody can know what you know.”

“Why not? I know these things.”

He took a moment to consider his answer. Out of the corner of my eye, his halo flashed like paparazzi cameras on Oscar night. “Telling you was a tough decision to make. I did it because you’re different. You already see these things, and if you’d listened to me about Damiel in the first place…”

I stiffened. “That’s the only reason you told me? Because you had to? The cat was already out of the bag?”

“It was a sign that I could tell you. You were in danger.”

“My friends are in danger, too! I can’t not let them know what’s coming at them. How can they fight it?”

A few more students made their way into the room. Class was about to start. I had to get inside. Michael held my arm, quiet and serious. “Believe me. Knowing about these things only makes it worse. I told you—”

“She’s my friend.”

“What do you think would happen if you told her? After everything she’s been through? With all those doctors questioning her?”

Ms. Nelson, my Latin teacher, approached. “Class is starting.” She turned to Michael. “Are you joining us today?”

“Nos iustus postulo paululum,” Michael said. We just need a moment. His accent was perfect, his voice a chord.

Nodding, Ms. Nelson backed off and shuffled into class.

“Did you—?”

“I bought us a few minutes,” he said quickly. “What if Fiona says something?”

“She won’t.” I remembered how Elaine found out about Michael rescuing me in the woods. Fiona wasn’t the best at keeping secrets. “They’d think she’s crazy.”

“Yeah, and that’s the last thing she needs right now.”

He was right. There was nothing I could say to Fiona to make it all better. The only thing I could do was be her friend, even if that meant hiding something from her. At least it was for her own good.

My cell phone rang, making me jump. I’d thought I’d turned it off. The number was blocked on my call display, but I answered it anyway. From the other end came an inhuman screeching that sent tendrils of ice down my spine. Around my neck, the warding necklace from Fatima twitched.

I was about to hang up when I heard a voice. Ti

My breath froze in my chest. “Who is this?”

Beside me, Michael tensed. My phone was loud enough that he could hear everything.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me already,” Damiel’s voice purred on the other end of the phone. “I haven’t forgotten you.” I pictured his eyes the last time I’d seen him, the way they shone that terrible red. But then he was in a body—Giulio’s body.

Could he see me? Right now? “I thought you were gone.”

“Oh, you mean what Michael did?” He laughed—a cold, evil sound. Behind his voice, I could still hear the screeching. “It takes more than that to get rid of me.”

Michael clasped his hands behind his head and turned away. “Just hang up,” he said.

“Tell Michael to remember who he’s dealing with.”

“Leave us alone!” I said and hung up.

Michael muttered something under his breath. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was cursing.

My hands shook, so I clasped them together. “Is he back?”

“If he was back, he wouldn’t bother to call,” Michael said. “He’d just show up.”

“He said something about my hair.” I shuddered, remembering the sound of his voice. “Can he see us?”

“No, but the hellhounds saw you this morning and he works closely with them. They’re his eyes and ears. He’s messing with your head.”

“I thought he was in Hell. How did he call—?”

“I’m not sure,” he said. “He could have intercepted an incoming call.”

“Can he do that?” I asked. A terrified, crazed animal paced in my chest. I wanted to run as far and as fast as my legs would take me, but they’d turned to liquid beneath me.

Noticing my reaction, he backed me into a locker so I could lean against it. I pressed my fingers into the metal behind me until they hurt.

“You mustn’t be afraid,” he said. “He won’t get anywhere near you. I won’t let him.” The halls now empty, we were alone. In the background, I could hear Ms. Nelson starting the class, but Michael stood so close I didn’t care about being late. He let out his breath slowly. “I’m sorry I brought you into this.”

“You didn’t,” I said.

“Oh, but I did.” He slid his hands to the sides of my head, stroking my hair. It was meant to be comforting, but my spine melted from his touch. Leaning his forehead into mine, he whispered, “I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”

Chapter Eighteen

The next few days were almost normal.

At school, I marveled at how Michael passed for perfectly human. Nobody else could see the intermittent flashing of his halo or the vague outline of his wings. The fact that I knew what he really looked like was an intimate secret between us, almost like seeing him naked would be. Okay, nowhere near as good as that. But I was begi

Elaine published an article on her blog saying I broke Damiel’s heart and rejected him for Michael and that’s what made him go away. The article upset me a lot more than it did Michael, who just ignored it, but he wasn’t the one being called the next whore of Babylon—something I had to look up the meaning of online. The girls who liked Damiel gave me dirty looks in the hallway. It made me almost wish Damiel would come back, as long as he left me alone.

At night, Michael watched out for me, but kept his distance like I was some kind of VIP and he was my angelic security service. Though they’d cleaned up the hellhound problem, something was worrying him. Something he didn’t want me to know.

Fiona came back to school on Wednesday, and Heather and I stayed close. We wanted things to be as normal as possible and she didn’t need people gossiping or staring at her. At least Elaine didn’t print anything in the school paper, which, for Elaine, was actually decent.

I was on my way to lunch with Michael when I noticed Fiona alone at her locker fumbling with her books. She dropped one, and as soon as she went to pick it up another one fell. She didn’t seem depressed this time, but a few people were chuckling at her while they gossiped amongst themselves. I could tell it made her uncomfortable.

“We should go talk to her,” I said to him. “Take her to lunch.”

“Wait a sec,” he said. When I gave him a questioning look, he added, “You’ll see.”

“Are you going to wave a magic wand or something and make it all better?”

He whispered in my ear, “I’m an angel, not a fairy godmother.” The heat of his breath traveled all the way down my neck, and I had to fight the urge to press myself against him.

Arielle appeared in the hallway. At first I thought she might say something to us, but other than giving Michael a nod, she walked right past. “Hey,” I said, lifting my hand to wave at her.

Michael caught my hand. “Shhh,” he said, his voice barely a whisper in the noisy hallway. “Don’t draw attention to her; she’s working. It’s going to help.”

“We’re the only ones who can see her right now?” I felt utterly foolish. Of course she was working. She doesn’t go to school.

If anybody else had seen me, they’d already moved on. Arielle approached Fiona and touched her arm. Fiona didn’t seem to notice, but this was how it worked. Arielle would whisper words of kindness, unseen, and Fiona would start feeling better. She’d already brightened. A smile crossed her lips.

Michael squeezed my hand and led me down the hall to the cafeteria. It was amazing how much it meant to me, this simple touch, showing that he cared.